Work-Life Balance
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SIOP White Paper Series<br />
ating a supportive work-life culture in which employees feel they should (or could) utilize<br />
work-life benefits, employees feel discouraged or even punished for taking time away<br />
from work to meet non-work needs. Organizations that establish a positive work-life culture<br />
will gain a favorable reputation among job applicants to target and retain higherquality<br />
individuals.<br />
Next Steps<br />
To attain work-life balance, employers can promote a positive work-life culture by actions<br />
at several different levels. First, at an organization-wide or department-wide level, consider<br />
implementing one or more work-life benefits such as telecommuting or flexible work<br />
hour options for employees, if and when possible. Look to other organizations as a source<br />
of innovative ideas. For example, the Families and <strong>Work</strong> Institute, in conjunction with the<br />
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), publishes annual guides suggesting<br />
innovative ideas based on many diverse companies that have won the Alfred P. Sloan<br />
Awards for Excellence in <strong>Work</strong>place Effectiveness and Flexibility. Second, remember that<br />
when managers and supervisors buy into the policies created to help balance work and<br />
life, employees are more likely to take advantage of them. Efforts targeted at supervisors<br />
can ensure that they understand how to implement these policies and benefits, as well as<br />
the potential benefits to the company of doing so.<br />
Third, make employees aware of efforts they can undertake to optimize their own work-life<br />
balance. For example, encourage employees to utilize vacation time for purposes of recovery.<br />
By doing so, employees physically and psychologically detach from their work,<br />
and they report greater well-being in general. Recovery periods like breaks during the<br />
work day or vacations could be particularly valuable for the employees whose jobs prohibit<br />
other work-life benefits. In addition, consider sharing information from recent studies<br />
that identify and describe how employees have dealt with specific types of work-home<br />
boundary violations, including strategies that are behavioral (e.g., develop guidelines for<br />
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